Making an Appointment

Appointments are available for Dr Guazzo and Dr Anderson at the rooms at 65 Eyre Street North Ward.

At NQNSS, we work hard to ensure that our services are accessible to all people who are in need of neurosurgical and spinal care. We aim to work with your General Practitioner to ensure that all referrals are reviewed and assessed as to the urgency and need for an earlier appointment.

If you feel your need is urgent, please talk to your GP who can then contact us to gain an appointment. Either doctor is available for a consultation, however if you have a personal preference for a specific doctor this can be arranged. If you have special medical needs or at your doctor suggestion, a telehealth or Skype appointment may be appropriate.

To make an appointment you will need the following

• A referral from your General Practitioner, Family Physician or other doctor.
• A comprehensive referral of your condition will ensure that an informed decision can be made by your neurosurgeon as to the urgency of your care. All referrals are reviewed by the doctors and are triarged so those who need an urgent appointment are prioritised.
• A copy of the reports from any scans/ MRI/CT or X-rays are generally available online. However, if you have scans from interstate or older scans these may be of use at an appointment.
• Any other relevant information eg list of medications, Medicare card, private health fund details, list of questions you might like to ask your doctor.
• If your consultation is being paid by a third party such as Workcover, DVA or an insurance company, please ensure you have prior approval and documentation that shows you have contacted these departments and they are prepared to cover this payment.
• Once your referral has been received with your medical and personal details, please contact our office to receive an appointment time. Your GP will usually ensure the referral is emailed or faxed to our office. Please ensure your telephone numbers and email are on the referral.

Please confirm you will attend your appointment a week before your appointment day. An SMS will be sent prior to your appointment.

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact our office.

As waiting times for appointments may be long, if you do not cancel your appointment we are unable to offer this time to another person who may need to see a neurosurgeon.

All attempts will be made to keep your waiting time for an appointment to a reasonable time frame. We try hard to make special arrangements for those from out of town and areas such as PNG, to enable patients to have other medical investigations and scans on the same day or adjacent to the day of your appointment.

Fees

As this is a private medical practice, there is a consultation fee. Some of this fee will be covered by a Medicare rebate. At the time you make an appointment, the fee structure will be discussed. Please pay for your consultation on the day of your appointment.

If you require surgery, a quotation will be given to you before your surgery. Please discuss any areas of concerns with our reception staff.

Forms

If you require a medical certificate, prescription or a travel form signed, please arrange with the reception staff to organise this at the time of your appointment.

Please arrive at your appointment 15 minutes prior to your allocated appointment time to fill in any necessary paper work.

At times your doctor may not be running on time as there may have been an emergency at The Townsville Hospital or The Mater Hospital or an urgent appointment has been accepted. We thank you for your understanding and patience regarding this. Our staff will endeavour to contact you if your doctor is running extremely late. Dr Anderson’s patients are asked to ring an hour before their appointment to ensure Doctor is running on time.